Comparison Of GenderBased Magazines Essay Research Paper

Comparison Of Gender-Based Magazines Essay, Research Paper

This paper will examine the portrayals of women in two different gender-based magazines through their respective editorials, articles, and advertisements.

The first magazine is titled Complete Woman. This is a general interest publication that concerns itself with issues of health, fitness, dating and relationships, romance, sexuality, and self-help articles.

The second periodical, titled Women’s Sports and Fitness, emphasizes both participatory and spectator sports. It includes articles about health, fitness, women athletes, emerging sports trends and attitudes.

Both magazines are directed toward women with the majority of material being written by women as well. It is noteworthy that the editors-in chief are female as are most of each publication’s staff. It seems somewhat ironic that the publisher of Complete Woman is male.

The editorial section of Complete Woman is directed at three categories of women: those who are single, those who have been divorced and those looking to keep their present relationship. It introduces writers of erotic confessions to women seeking to put the “spark back into your love life.” If your love life is not working to your satisfaction, the editor suggest trying “creative divorce.” Of course, with all this turmoil comes a survival guide to help “work your way beyond betrayal into new strength.”

Women’s Sports and Fitness, on the other hand, discusses the benefits of being able-bodied. “If I can change a tire, I’m set,” writes the editor. She poses the question of what is confidence and asks the reader to consider the different skills that women at the turn of the century were expected to accomplish. These included learning to play a musical instrument

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(to entertain guests), ballroom dancing, the fine art of table setting, and sewing.

Although knowing how to sew is admirable and could come in handy for replacing lost buttons, WSF thinks it is time for women to have a new list of things they should be able to do in the new millennium and they are more than happy to provide that list. The editor equates strength with confidence and tells women to “go build some of your own.”

It would appear at first glance that these publications have different agendas. The former attempts to address women’s emotional problems and the latter concerns itself with the physical capabilities of women. Yet both send the message that women are lacking in some way and these fine magazines have the secret formulae to remedy the situation.

In an article that follows CW’ s editorial, Cokie Roberts discusses how women are “confused (about where they belong) because we know that no matter what else a woman is doing, she’s also care-taking, and we worry that a woman ‘out at work’ might leave someone, especially her children, without care.” This is a prime example of what Susan Faludi describes in Backlash that “women may be free and equal, but have never been more miserable.”

In the next segments, CW leads into articles on weighing the alternatives to birth control and breast enlargement. It offers survival guides to relationship breakups and separation and further admonishes women not to ease their misery by following the “dumper’s diet” of gorging on cake and pizza. Advice on how to marry a millionaire suggests going to expensive restaurants to scope out the clientele and having

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breakfast or lunch if you can not afford dinner. But “be sure to go with one or two friends who are not as attractive as you are.” Finding the right man is possible by “developing your psychic power and an exclusive book excerpt from the bestseller “What Men Want,” a dating guide written by three eligible bachelors.

All of these stories having the overshadowing theme than a woman is nothing and unfulfilled without a man in her life. This supports Mona Charen’s theory in her article, “The Feminine Mistake,” that women’s liberation “has effectively robbed (women) of one thing upon which the happiness of most women rests–men.”

In direct opposition to this theory, WSF profiles successful women athletes like Jackie Joyner-Kersee who are concerned with achieving their personal goals and desires. An interview with Olympic Gold medalist, Picabo Street talks about being a role model and that being a tomboy required her to perform at a higher level and a personal essay on reaching a goal of fulfilling a lifelong fantasy of rowing in the sport’s most famous race, the Head of Charles.

The only beauty problems discussed are soothing chapped lips, healing blisters and helmet hair. The fashion layout is dedicated to high-tech fabrics that keep you warm during those winter adventures.

An article that explores proper breathing discusses the societal influence of having a flat stomach. Michael Grant White of Berkeley says that “society values a flat stomach, but holding it in limits the movement of the diaphragm and prevents you from taking full advantage of your lung capacity. Women tend to suck in their stomachs, puff out their chests and

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draw up their shoulders when they breathe, producing shallow and irregular inhalations.”

Another article dealing with societal influence looks at orthopedic surgery for women’s sports injuries. It has not been until recently that orthopedic s